Just banded: female red-winged blackbird in hand, Frick Park, 14 May 2022 (photo by Kate St. John)
21 May 2022
Seen this week in Schenley and Frick Parks:
At top, bird bander David Yeany holds a recently banded female red-winged blackbird at Frick Park on Migratory Bird Day, 14 May 2022.
On 17 May we looked for warblers along Nine Mile Run’s boardwalk and found many black walnut flowers fallen on the railing.
Old flower from black walnut, 17 May 2022 (photo by Kate St. John)
I would have brushed this one away until I saw an insect hiding on it. Do you see the juicy caterpillar, below? This is warbler food!
Warbler food! on an old black walnut flower, 17 May 2022 (photo by Kate St. John)
In Schenley Park a carpenter ant examined fading pawpaw flowers that smell like rotten meat, if they smell at all. No rotting meat here. She left.
An ant leaves after exploring fading flowers on a pawpaw tree, 13 May 2022 (photo by Kate St. John)
Mystery flower of the week was a non-native with thin basal leaves found blooming in the woods in Frick Park. How did star-of-Bethlehem (Ornithogalum sp.), a native of southern Europe and southern Africa, get into the woods? Is it invading?
Star of Bethlehem blooming in the woods at Frick Park, 14 May 2022 (photo by Kate St. John)
Many of us are familiar with horsetail (Equisetum) because it looks so unusual. Its hollow stems are ridged and jointed and grow in dense clumps as much as three feet tall. None of the stems have apparent leaves but some have a knob on top, a stobilus, that produces spores for reproduction.
Equisetum is so weird because, as Wikipedia explains, it “is a living fossil, the only living genus of the entire subclass Equisetidae, which for over 100 million years was much more diverse and dominated the under-story of late Paleozoic forests. Some equisetids were large trees reaching to 30 m (98 ft) tall.”
251.9 million years ago the Permian–Triassic extinction event wiped out all the Equisetidae except for Equisetum which is now 359 million years old, older than the dinosaurs.
Equisetum species have two methods of reproduction: sexually via spores and asexually by spreading rhizomes in clonal colonies. The hybrid can only spread asexually but that’s enough to keep it thriving in limited locations.
Viburnum plicatum beginning to bloom, Frick Park, 3 May 2022 (photo by Kate St. John)
9 May 2022
In early April in Frick Park I noticed many woody saplings leafing out ahead of all the other plants. They were everywhere sporting dark green pleated leaves while the rest of the woods were brown. They looked invasive. I took a picture.
One of many V. plicatum volunteers leafing out, Frick Park, 13 April 2022 (photo by Kate St. John)
In early May the older ones started to bloom. Viburnum. But which one?
Viburnum plicatum beginning to bloom, Frick Park, 3 May 2022 (photo by Kate St. John)
Viburnums are hard to identify so I asked my friends from the Botanical Society of Western PA, Mark Bowers and Loree Speedy, who identified it as Japanese snowball (Vibrunum plicatum) and remembered it from a survey in Frick Park a few years ago.
When Frick Park was established in 1919 its grand entry was landscaped with beautiful plants from around the world, available from catalogs such as this one from 1910 showing Viburnum plicatum var Tomentosum.
An abundance of the plant formerly known as squaw root, Schenley Park, 5 May 2022 (photo by Kate St. John)
8 May 2022
The first week of May was full of new flowers, leaves, birds and insects. Here are just a few of many sightings.
The ground in Schenley Park is dotted with abundant clusters of cream colored leafless flowers poking up like corn cobs beneath the oaks. Conopholis americana is a parasite on oak roots so we never see the plant itself, only the flowers. Fortunately it doesn’t harm the trees.
Formerly known as squaw root, Conopholis americana has many alternate common names. The accepted name now is “American cancer-root” but that sounds scary and can be misleading. I prefer “bear corn” because it looks like a corn cob and bears do eat it.
While the bear cone bloomed below them, the oaks flowered and leafed out above. This drew in migrating birds to eat the insects that hatch among the leaves.
Red oak flowers and new leaves, Schenley Park, 5 May 2022 (photo by Kate St. John)
May’s tiny green caterpillars are too small for me to photograph but here’s what they look like in June, munching on an oak leaf. This is warbler food!
Caterpillar on oak leaf, June 2020 (photo by Kate St. John)
At mid level in Schenley Park the pawpaws (Asimina triloba) opened their bell-like flowers.
Pawpaw in bloom, Schenley Park, 5 May 2022 (photo by Kate St. John)
Redbud blooming in Frick Park, 28 April 2022 (photo by Kate St. John)
30 April 2022
Thursday morning’s freezing temperature did not affect the redbud trees in Frick Park. I hope it didn’t harm the wildflowers we saw on Wednesday at Enlow Fork in Greene County.
Check the captions for what’s blooming now.
Wild blue phlox, Enlow Fork, 27 April 2022 (photo by Kate St. John)Squirrel corn, Enlow Fork, 27 April 2023 (photo by Kate St. John)Dwarf larkspur, Enlow Fork, 27 April 2022 (photo by Kate St. John)Corn salad, Enlow Fork, 27 April 2022 (photo by Kate St. John)Blue-eyed Mary, Enlow Fork, 27 April 2022 (photo by Kate St. John)
Trout lilies at Raccoon Creek State Park Wildflower Reserve, 22 April 2022 (photo by Kate St. John)
23 April 2022
Woodland wildflowers are putting on a show right now in southwestern Pennsylvania. Here are just a few of the beauties we saw yesterday at Raccoon Creek State Park Wildflower Reserve.
Trout lilies (Erythronium americanum), above, are at their peak. Look closely and you’ll find a few of the less common white trout lily (Erythronium albidum), below.
See the captions for the rest of the flowers.
White trout lily, Raccoon Wildflower Reserve, 22 April 2022 (photo by Kate St. John)Early saxifrage, Raccoon Wildflower Reserve, 22 April 2022 (photo by Kate St. John)Mud splattered! Large-flower trillium, Raccoon Wildflower Reserve, 22 April 2022 (photo by Kate St. John)Sessile trillium, Raccoon Wildflower Reserve, 22 April 2022 (photo by Kate St. John)Smooth rock cress, Raccoon Wildflower Reserve, 22 April 2022 (photo by Kate St. John)Wild geranium, Raccoon Wildflower Reserve, 22 April 2022 (photo by Kate St. John)Blue violets, Raccoon Wildflower Reserve, 22 April 2022 (photo by Kate St. John)
This weekend’s sunny hot weather will put these flowers past their prime soon. It’s time to get outdoors!
p.s. If you go to Raccoon Wildflower Reserve, wear boots! It is very, very muddy.
Harbinger of spring, Raccoon Wildflower Reserve, 15 April 2022 (photo by Kate St. John)
16 April 2022
Yesterday’s warm and sunny weather brought out woodland flowers that were waiting bloom. I found a good selection at Raccoon Creek State Park Wildflower Reserve in Beaver County, PA.
Four flowers were at their peak:
Harbinger of spring (Erigenia bulbosa), only 5-15 cm (2-6″) tall, is one of the first to bloom.
Spring beauty (Claytonia virginica) put on a show because the sun was shining.
Spring beauty, Raccoon Wildflower Reserve, 15 April 2022 (photo by Kate St. John)
Chickweed (Stellaria sp.) was a puzzle without my Newcomb’s Guide. Which one is this? To me the petals look too long for common chickweed, too short for great/star chickweed but the lower leaves have long stalks which says “common” to me.
Chickweed, Raccoon Wildflower Reserve, 15 April 2022 (photo by Kate St. John)
Trout lilies (Erythronium americanum) are a challenge to photograph because they face the ground.
Trout lilies, Raccoon Wildflower Reserve, 15 April 2022 (photo by Kate St. John)
Other plants had one or two representatives while the rest waited to flower soon:
Cutleaf toothwort, Raccoon Wildflower Reserve, 15 April 2022 (photo by Kate St. John)
Small-flowered crowfoot (Ranunculus micranthus), with leaves shaped like crows’ feet, is a member of the Buttercup family. Its small flower can be inconspicuous.
Small-flower crowfoot, Raccoon Wildflower Reserve, 15 April 2022 (photo by Kate St. John)
Virginia bluebells, Raccoon Wildflower Reserve, 15 April 2022 (photo by Kate St. John)
Unfortunately yesterday’s gusty winds presaged today’s rain and colder temperatures for the week ahead. (Snow in the sky on Tuesday?!) The flowers at Raccoon may be delayed again.
Meanwhile weeds will not be phased by the change in weather. Look at the sidewalk’s edge to find bird’s-eye speedwell (Veronica persica), a native of Eurasia. I found this one near the feeders at Frick Park. Bird’s eye indeed!
Bird’s eye speedwell, Frick Park, 13 April 2022 (photo by Kate St. John)
Scratching a spicebush branch with my thumbnail (photo by Kate St. John)
12 April 2022
We’re used to the idea that flowers smell sweet but did you know that some twigs and buds have scents too? Scratch and sniff to find these three.
Spicebush (Lindera sp.) stands out right now with yellow flowers in balls along the branches. Scratch and sniff the twig, as I am doing above. It smells like spice, almost nutmeg.
Spicebush at Schenley Park, 9 April 2022 (photo by Kate St. John)
Before this tree leafs out, scratch and sniff a bud on a bitternut hickory (Carya cordiformis). It smells like lemons.
Bitternut hickory buds, Schenley Park, 9 April 2022 (photo by Kate St. John)
Juniper berries (Juniperus sp.) are a favorite food of cedar waxwings (Bombycilla cedrorum) on spring migration. Last week I found 40 of them feasting at the junipers near CMU’s Morewood Gardens parking lot.
Scratch or crush a berry. It smells like gin. … Or so they say. I haven’t smelled gin in years because I don’t like it.
Juniper berries from Devonshire Street at CMU (penny for scale), 8 April 2022 (photo by Kate St. John)
Almost-blooming native trees including eastern redbud (Cercis canadensis) in Frick Park.
Redbud flowers in bud, 7 April 2022 in Frick Park (photo by Kate St. John)
Swelling buds and leaf out on the yellow buckeyes (Aesculus flava) in Schenley Park.
Yellow buckeyes in Schenley Park: buds and leaf out! (photos by Kate St. John)
and Mud Season!
Mud season! after a trek in Schenley Park, 9 April 2022 (photo by Kate St. John)
This year’s cold weather delayed the trees compared to last year on this date. For comparison see Spring Green from 10 April 2021.
And finally: Why did it Rain, Sun, Rain, Sun over and over again yesterday? The National Weather Service radar shows a flock of discrete self-contained rain clouds moving over the landscape.
Spring was on hold during last week’s long hard frost but it’s coming back this week. Here’s what to expect outdoors in the Pittsburgh area.
The earliest warblers arrive in April before the leaves open. Last weekend a Louisiana waterthrush returned to Tom’s Run Nature Reserve in Sewickley PA. Look for them walking along clean streams, bobbing their tails, and singing their very loud song.
Yellow-throated warblers will return to Pittsburgh area creeks and streams on or before 20 April. You’ll hear them before you see them, walking the high trunks and larger branches of sycamores.
Snow trillium, Little Sewickley Creek, Westmoreland County, 3 April 2022 (photo by Kate St. John)
Soon we’ll see spring beauty, spicebush, hepatica, harbinger-of-spring, bloodroot, spring cress, twinleaf, violets and more.
Spicebush in Schenley Park, 13 April 2013 (photo by Kate St. John)Bloodroot at Cedar Creek Park, Westmoreland County, 19 April 2014 (photo by Kate St. John)
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